Who is self-styled pastor Bajinder Singh, known for ‘Yeshu Yeshu’ videos, booked for sexual harassment?

The woman further alleged that in 2022, the pastor began inviting her to sit alone with him in the church cabin on Sundays, where he would touch her inappropriately. She also warned in her complaint that if any harm came to her or her family members, including her parents, husband, or brother, both Pastor Bajinder Singh and Avatar Singh would be held responsible for it.

Following the complaint, the police registered a case against him under sections 354 A (sexual harassment), 354 D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Who is Bajinder Singh?

Born in September 1982 into a Jat family in Yamunanagar, Haryana, Baljinder Singh has been viral on social media for the past few years for videos where he was seen ‘healing’ people in congregations. In 2023, a video of the self-proclaimed pastor left the internet in splits where he supposedly ‘healed’ a speech-impaired girl.

Nearly a decade ago, Singh was jailed for a murder case. It was during his imprisonment that he came into contact with a pastor and became drawn to Christianity. He began reading the Bible daily and eventually converted.

In 2012, Bajinder Singh started his own ministry, where he organised Sunday prayer meetings, which contributed to his growing popularity for “miracle healing” and helped him build a following. His ministry, the Church of Glory and Wisdom, now operates multiple branches in Punjab and other regions, and he is known for hosting large prayer meetings often accompanied by public performances.

The ‘healer baba’ has amassed over 3 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 1 million followers across Facebook and Instagram. His social media accounts mainly feature testimonials and claims of ‘curing’ illnesses such as HIV, paralysis, and even curing a child with speech and hearing impairment, all by using his “anointing oil.” The church, which has been in the news for several reasons in the past, is also known for its association with Bollywood stars.

Action against Bajinder Singh for exploiting children for conversion activities

In 2021, a video of Bajinder Singh and a young boy went viral, stirring a controversy and fueling a meme frenzy online. The video, believed to be from a Christian missionary event, shows the young boy crying inconsolably. In the video, Singh asks the boy whether his sister could speak before, to which the boy replies no. The boy is then asked if she can speak now, and the boy answers yes. The background music in the video is the song “Mera Yeshu Yeshu,” (My Jesus Jesus) further adding to the attention the video received.

What started as a meme soon landed the pastor in legal trouble. On August 29, 2021, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sent a letter to Mandip Singh Brar, the Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh, seeking action against Singh “for using a minor boy for unusual superstition activity.”
https://twitter.com/AskAnshul/status/1431921983277596675
The letter, written by Dharmendra Bhandari, Principal Secretary to the Chairperson of NCPCR, referred to a video posted on Twitter showing Bajinder Singh using the minor boy in a manner that allegedly violated the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. In the video, the child is seen crying, and both his and the pastor’s behavior appeared unusual to the child rights body. Additionally, the commission highlighted that no one in the video adhered to basic COVID-19 protocols, such as wearing masks or maintaining social distance, further violating the guidelines issued by the Government of India.

Bajinder Singh was also booked in an alleged rape case in 2018.

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